Our people

Derek Asplin

Director (1947-2023)

Derek is one of the founding directors of our company and spent his entire working career within the construction industry.

Originally from a joinery background, Derek progressed his career into site management, making a success of all of his projects by using his strong leadership skills and ability to get the job done. Realising that he had a talent to make things happen, In October 1971 Derek joined forces with Stuart Pudney and co-founded our company.

With the new business venture under way, Derek used his skills and abilities to successfully run the works and contracting side of the business, taking overall responsibility for projects from the point of enquiry through to the successful completion of works on site.

Derek’s contribution to the business was key to the initial growth of our turnover and client base through our early days, and he successfully won and secured many term maintenance and planned works contracts which formed the bed-rock of our company at that time. Later in Derek’s career he formed our Large Works Department and secured the company’s first job to exceed a contract value of £1 million.

Derek retired from the organisation in 2005 but remained in regular communication with the board of directors. He also enjoyed attending all company functions and meeting with the staff. Sadly following a long illness, Derek passed away peacefully in July 2023 with his family at his side.

Derek will leave a lasting legacy at the company with all staff following in his footsteps and continuing his commitment of getting the job done, whilst providing the best possible service for our clients.

Stuart Pudney

Financial Director and Company Secretary

Stuart is one of the founding directors of our company and has spent his working life within the construction industry. Stuart commenced his career as a quantity surveyor, but his passion for business and his ability as a natural leader soon saw him taking the plunge at running his own business in a joint venture with co-founder Derek Asplin, which culminated in the opening of our company in October 1971.

As a quantity surveyor, Stuart was very proficient with figures and it was only natural that he should head up the company’s finances and accounts team, but back in those early days there were no computers, and the business really did operate its accounting books in actual books!

Stuart’s leadership of the company now spans more than 50 years but his passion and drive for the business remains the same as it always has been. He has spent many years steering the company through financial growth and technological change, but he continues to professionally lead his team five days a week and heads up the return of the company’s annual accounts.

Dale Asplin

Director – Construction, Commercial, Insurance and Surveying

Dale joined our company in 1993 as a Technical Assistant working on term maintenance contracts. Within a short space of time he was appointed to head up our Small Works Department in Peterborough where he gained an excellent knowledge of estimating, tendering and the running of projects.

As a result of Dale’s natural ability to secure new clients through the good work he delivered, he quickly progressed through the company providing rapid growth in our turnover and customer portfolio. In 1997 Dale opened our Northampton branch which gained new business and clients both locally and nationally. In 2003 he became a shareholder in the business and in 2008 was appointed as a Director.

He expanded the business further by opening our London Office in 2015 where he heads up and oversees the delivery of commercial, retail and healthcare construction and refurbishment projects, as well as large commercial insurance projects too. The London office continues to successfully expand year on year and delivers prestigious projects both nationally and in the heart of our capital city.

In January 2023 Dale was instrumental in setting up a new group company ‘Princebuild UK Limited’ which operates from our newly acquired central London office. The new company, which Dale now oversees, has a focus on developing new work streams and specialist construction and refurbishment projects in London and across the UK.

Jonathan Pudney

Director

Jonathan commenced his career with the company in 1985, initially working as an assistant to Mechanical and Electrical Engineers and then advancing to become a fully qualified Electrician in his own right.

Childhood ambition saw him move away from the company in 1987 to join the British Armed Forces where he served with distinction in the Royal Military Police and was awarded the General Service Medal.

In August 1993 Jonathan returned to the Princebuild family, taking a position within the Term Maintenance Contracts division predominately working for Cambridgeshire County Council. Natural progression led to him running the Peterborough based Insurance, Maintenance and Building Services departments and also overseeing the company’s Health & Safety commitments.

Jonathan became a board member of the company in 2000 and a shareholder in 2003. A restructure within the company and board of directors resulted in a move away from direct involvement with contracting to allow him to concentrate on the development of Health & Safety, Human Resources, Fleet Management, Invoicing, Facilities and the Investment Property portfolio.

The progress of the Fleet Management department was acknowledged at the Commercial Fleet awards in 2019 where Princebuild were awarded Highly Commended in Ground Breaking Safety Initiative and Winner of the Private Sector Fleet of the Year Award beating off many well-known national companies.

As the Director responsible for HR, Jonathan is passionate about supporting individuals needs and developing potential to help reach personal goals. Inclusion is at the heart of Princebuild’s core values and to support this Jonathan is a qualified Mental Health First Aider and has also completed courses in Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace. He is able to adapt his management style to accommodate all individual personalities and applies a cautious and considered approach to all aspects of his work. He is a fierce defender of the ‘family values based business for all’ ethos and always offers an open door policy to each and every employee.

Taking into account Jonathan’s working history it is fair to say that he has an excellent understanding of all aspects/departments of the business having worked his way from the ‘shop floor’ to the board room, which allows him to apply empathy and understanding with all he engages.

Away from the work environment Jonathan is a keen motorcyclist and member of Peterborough based Back to Basics Scooter Club, he is also a life-long follower of Peterborough Utd where he has been a season ticket holder for 45 years, we guess we all have our downsides!

Mark Asplin

Director – Retail Projects and Director responsible for the company's Health and Safety Department

Mark commenced his employment with the company in 1994 as a Bench Joiner and progressed his career through to the running and management of Commercial and Retail projects. He is a Shareholder Director who prides himself on strong and collaborative relationships with clients and the ever growing project teams. Mark is an integral part of the management and day to day operations of the company.

Over the years Mark has gained a vast knowledge of the construction industry, from pricing tenders to planning works and delivering them on site. In 2008 he became the Director of Retail Projects for Princebuild. He has more recently become the Director responsible for Health and Safety, overseeing all procedures and policies. From Mark’s extensive site knowledge and experience in the Health and Safety sector he leads and guides our dedicated department. Through his enthusiastic approach he ensures engagement and compliance from all departments to achieve the required high standards. This was evident during the Covid pandemic where the company excelled in Health and Safety in such demanding times.

Mark is responsible for all construction projects delivered by his departments. Through his comprehensive knowledge and experience he is able to offer invaluable guidance to his professional team who are capable of delivering multiple projects simultaneously, with values ranging from £50k to a more recent £14 million. Mark has always prided himself on providing a high quality service from conception to completion with works being delivered on time and on budget with minimal snagging. This level of service has been reflected in the amount of repeat business he and his team have generated over the years.

Mark fully immerses himself in the Princebuild community and takes great pride in leading events and supporting local and world-wide charities.

Matthew Pudney

Director – Maintenance, Marketing, Business Development, IT and Communications

Matthew has worked for the company since 1988 and began his career working on the administration of term maintenance contracts. Passionate about delivering good results, Matthew was soon heading up the Maintenance Division of the company and has been responsible for opening up several of our branches across East Anglia.

Over time it became apparent that Matthew had a flair for developing and improving systems of work, so he was appointed to lead the development of our bespoke IT systems which efficiently run our company today. He now heads up our in-house IT and Communications Department. In addition Matthew works closely with our Marketing Department to help maintain and promote our brand, as well as increasing awareness of our service offering.

Matthew became a board member of the company in 2000 and a shareholder in 2003 and has the responsibility for managing the Group’s business strategy with regards investment and maintaining shareholder value.

The community is at the heart of Princebuild’s core values and Matthew has been actively involved in supporting the local community through organising large charity events, engaging directly with the community through local radio competitions and more recently has been a judge for both the Peterborough Telegraph’s Apprentice and Business Excellence Awards. For the past nine years Matthew has also joined other employees in running an annual 10k to help raise much needed funds for charity and although he has stated that 2022 was his last run, we think he’ll be back at it again soon!

Paul Baker

Director of Construction and Princeenergy

Paul has been with Princebuild Ltd since 1998 and has progressed his career throughout the Company, to his current roles of Director of Construction, Princeinteriors and Princeenergy. These departments not only provide services to external customers but also support internal departments in delivering their projects.

Working closely with his fellow Directors he has been integral to the continued growth and development of his team and the company as a whole, whether this be through the development and implementation of new processes and procedures, building and maintaining relationships with clients or delivering complex projects.

His departments have continued to grow year on year and maintain the commercial margins necessary, this has been done via a collaborative approach with contractors and clients alike.

In addition to Paul’s commitment to the departments he oversees, he continues to run large-scale projects of his own, from conception and design through to completion. He prides himself on delivering a very high standard of finish and his determination to deliver projects in accordance with clients expectations has resulted in a continued pipeline of repeat business across a varied client base.

Paul has gained a vast experience delivering retail and commercial projects across a wide array of sectors including regional shopping centres, food retail, healthcare, MOD, MOJ and educational establishments.

Tom Duerden

Associate Director

Tom studied Civil Engineering at University and joined Princebuild thereafter. He has worked at Princebuild since June 2012 in the Retail Projects Department, beginning as a Trainee Project Manager.

Through his dedication and commitment he has progressed over the years to Associate Director.

Tom’s career began with spending the majority of his time based on site. This allowed him to gain an extensive appreciation of how construction projects operate and the importance of creating productive and successful relationships with everyone involved.

In 2016 Tom wanted to extend his knowledge and understanding further and completed his Masters in Civil Engineering. This showed his commitment to his professional development and his desire to further build on his already strong foundation of knowledge and relationships.

Tom works with many clients and projects and has numerous highlights in his career so far. In 2017 he proudly received an award from Morrisons for ‘Best Individual Performance’ and in 2021/2022 successfully led a team through one of Princebuild's largest jobs, worth over £14 million. He also received his 10 year service award for Princebuild in 2022.

His current role consists of leading and overseeing a team to deliver multiple projects for our retail clients. Tom works closely with clients from feasibility stages, overseeing delivery of projects, right through to hand over and beyond. He travels and works all around the country, winning tenders and continuing to work with long standing clients.

Tom was honoured when he became an Associate Director in 2021 and this has given Tom the opportunity to show and learn skills to be an asset to Princebuild’s future.

Edward Duerden

Associate Director (Princebuild UK)

Edward first joined Princebuild in 2013, working as an onsite labourer after finishing university. He quickly progressed and was soon moved into the role of Project Co-Ordinator.

He showed a natural talent for managing and a great business acumen, so following a brief period as a Project Manager Edward moved into a tendering and estimating role based at The Northampton branch.

In 2015 Princebuild opened a new office in London and Edward has been instrumental in the set up and development of both the office and client base in the capital. Since the opening of the branch he has grown the client base and brought in new, high profile projects from the commercial, retail and food production sectors.

From his role as a Contracts Surveyor he moved into Commercial Management and this progression was supported by his studies as he gained his Masters Degree in Building Surveying in 2018.

Throughout this time he has undertaken much of the tendering and estimating work for the London branch as well as the commercial management of the larger projects undertaken by the London team.

Edward's hard work and dedication to the company was rewarded in 2021 with a promotion to Executive Manager for the London branch, overseeing all London based project procurement and delivery.

In 2023 Edward was further promoted to the role of Associate Director of the newly formed Princebuild UK. His current role is to oversee the performance of Princebuild UK, continue to manage the process of setting up PBUK as a new company, tender and procure new projects and manage the team of project managers.

Andrew Richardson

Executive Manager

Andrew joined Princebuild as an Assistant Project Manager in September 2014 and within his first six months, having demonstrated leadership skills, a strong work ethic, dedication and attention to detail, he progressed to Project Manager.

In October 2022, having continually demonstrated his ability and commitment to the company, Andrew was promoted to Executive Manager, he now assists the Directors with the running and management of the department.

With a BSc Hons in Architecture & Environmental Design and a background in construction, during the past nine years Andrew has proven to be an asset to the company having worked on some of Princebuild’s largest and most prestigious projects the company has completed. He has shown an excellent ability to manage even the most complex projects, consistently achieving results that are over and above client expectations.

In his current position, Andrew plays a key role in mentoring and overseeing a team delivering multiple projects for a varied client base, winning new tenders, securing new clients and developing relationships with existing long-standing clients. Andrew works closely with clients from early feasibility stages, overseeing successful delivery of projects right through to handover and beyond.

As the company continues to grow, Andrew is further committed to building on his already strong foundation of knowledge and assisting in developing staff for the future.

Billie Stewart

Accountant

Gavin Harrison

Executive Manager (Building Services)

Gavin started his career in 1999 as an Apprentice Electrician when leaving school at the age of 16, he competed his Electro Technical Advanced Modern Apprenticeship in 2003. From there he progressed down the panel building route, building, installing, testing and commissioning panels on site.

Gavin joined Princebuild in 2012 as an Electrical Engineer and he quickly progressed to the role of Working Site Supervisor. After showing excellent leadership skills on site he was soon promoted into a management role and became Building Services Manager.

It was clear that this was a role that Gavin would excel in and he was subsequently promoted to Lead Building Services Manager, responsible for running projects up to £6 million and for running the growing electrical department.

Most recently Gavin has been promoted to Executive Manager and he now oversees both the electrical and the mechanical teams.

His current role consists of leading and overseeing a multi disciplined team to deliver a range of projects for our M&E clients. Gavin works closely with clients from the early stages, overseeing the complete project cycle from tendering through to handover and beyond.

Ian Tysall

Executive Manager (Princebuild UK)

Ian Joined Princebuild in 2003, initially working as a Carpenter and quickly progressing to Supervisor, completing insurance works up to the value of £250,000.

Due to his excellent leadership and management skills Ian was subsequently promoted to the role of Assistant Project Manager working on a range of contracts with a value up to £1 million in the works department at Northampton.

After showing his ability to deliver high quality projects Ian was further promoted to Project Manager running his own projects and building a client base from the Northampton office. In 2007 he was then promoted to Senior Project Manager working on various, often complex and challenging projects in education, healthcare and commercial settings.

With the number of project in the London area growing rapidly, Ian was approached to transfer to the London office in 2018 to work on new contracts and assist in developing the department. He was able to use his extensive experience to work on attracting new clients to the business and also support and develop less experienced members of the team.

In May 2023 Ian was deservedly promoted to Executive Manager and is now helping to expand Princebuild UK, as well as maintaining existing clients and assisting in developing staff for the future.

Jonathan Brown

Executive Manager (Fleet and Facilities)

Jonathan commenced his career with Princebuild in 1996. Initially working at our Gosberton branch as a technical administrator within the Response Maintenance Department, dealing with day to day repairs, void works, gas servicing, maintenance and renewals for local authority properties and social housing. Jonathan expanded his knowledge of construction industry by enrolling on the CIOB Site Management Diploma and achieved a level 4 NVQ through the College of West Anglia.

In 1998 Jonathan was relocated to the Peterborough Office to become Office/Fleet Manager looking after the depot facilities and overseeing the in-house fleet workshop as well as the day to day operations of the light commercial fleet and company cars. During this period his role evolved to include giving Health & Safety Advice to the business and over the next three years Jonathan undertook training and development in Health and Safety. First by achieving his NEBOSH General Certificate with the CITB at Bircham Newton then moving on to achieve the NEBOSH Diploma with the West Anglia Training Centre.

Jonathan returned to the Gosberton office in 2004 to assist Matthew Pudney in the expanding Response and Small Works Department and over saw the day to day management of our Market Rasen, Nottingham and Thetford Branch, during this time Jonathan was promoted to the position of Executive Manager.

In 2013, after many years of continual growth, Princebuild underwent a restructure and Jonathan was appointed to the role of Fleet and Facilities Manager. The new role included over seeing the six regional offices and the fleet of some 180 vehicles. Jonathan is always making improvements in how we operate and manage the vehicles, his efforts where rewarded in 2019 by winning the Best Private Fleet Operator of the Year and runner up for the best Ground Breaking Safety Initiative at the Light Commercial Fleet Awards.

In more recent times Jonathan has also been tasked as the Quality Manager for the business making sure that the ISO9001:2015 is maintained and the quality management structure is adhered to by all.

Mary Jenner

Finance Controller

Mary commenced her accounting career working in an accounts department for a healthcare company. Following a relocation to the Peterborough area in 2015, Mary took the opportunity to join the Princebuild accounts team at the Peterborough head office.

Mary's initial role within the department was principal purchase ledger administrator and from there she progressed to working on the sub-contract ledger and then to payroll administrator.

Due to her commitment to the department and her ability in the role, Mary was then promoted to the role of Finance Controller.

During her time at Princebuild Mary has also undertaken additional professional study and has completed her AAT level 2 Certificate in Accounting, AAT Level 3 Diploma in Accounting and her AAT Level 4 Diploma in Professional Accounting.

Stephen Leeks

Executive Manager - Works Division

Stephen commenced his career in the construction industry as a multi-skilled operative more than 50 years ago. He gained experience working on refurbishments, extensions and property conversions in London where he progressed his career and became a site foreman. Later he set-up his own development business working alongside architects, building inspectors and clerk of works.

After relocating to the Peterborough area, Stephen joined our company in 1996 as a site supervisor working on our commercial refurbishment contracts and in 2001 was promoted to contracts manager, looking after several pre-decoration repair contracts for local authorities.

Following the successful completion of these contracts Stephen moved on to manage some of our larger commercial contracts and in 2006 became the executive manager of our Large Works Department in Peterborough. Due to continued growth and the restructuring of our business in 2011, Stephen became responsible for large works across the company and in 2013 coordinated the amalgamation of Small Works into the department.

In order to maintain good working practices within the works division, Stephen now spends the majority of his time monitoring the administration, health and safety and costings of all projects within the department, as well as providing advice to his team on contract conditions and the scheduling of works. Stephen also monitors the company’s subcontractor database ensuring suitability and conformity to our requirements and invests time in mentoring and developing our trainee project managers.

Trevor Riley

Executive Manager

Trevor worked as a fully qualified mechanical engineer before joining Princebuild as a site supervisor for the retail team in 2006.

Throughout his time at Princebuild Trevor has worked across the retail and large works departments and in 2008 he progressed to the role of project manager. In this role he successfully managed multiple high-profile commercial projects, as well as care home and hospital projects, insurance jobs and void works.

Due to his continued progression and team leadership skills Trevor was promoted to senior project manager in 2015. Working on a wide variety of retail and commercial projects throughout the UK, overseeing the complete cycle of those projects, from tendering through to site mobilisation including all valuations, final accounts and estimating.

With his wealth of knowledge and experience Trevor plays a key role in training and mentoring a team of project managers and trainees which has aided in the success and growth of Princebuild over the years.

With Trevor’s ability and commitment alongside his countless successes achieved throughout his career, he was further promoted to the role of executive manager in 2022.

Carly Dadge

Group Brand & Marketing Manager

Carly Dadge is a marketing professional with an impressive track record spanning 16 years in marketing, publishing, events, and the charity sector.

Throughout her career, Carly has demonstrated a keen ability to craft and execute effective marketing campaigns that drive results. Her expertise encompasses a wide range of marketing disciplines, including digital marketing, branding, event marketing, and print marketing.

Carly's journey in marketing has been marked by her excellent communication skills, strategic thinking, and strong commitment to achieving tangible goals. She has successfully managed marketing projects, leveraged digital platforms to increase sales, and orchestrated impactful digital and print marketing campaigns.

As a dedicated marketing professional, Carly's passion for her work shines through in her attention to detail and her ability to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of marketing trends and technologies.

Carl Mallett

IT and Communications Manager – Development and Support

Carl began his career with Princebuild in October 1999 as a general labourer carrying out various tasks for the Northampton branch.

Through his time with the company he has worked in several different roles, running contracts, assisting with estimating and carrying out surveys to name a few. He did them very well progressed to the role of Office Manager of the Northampton Branch. Despite his clear ability in managing contracts and teams, Carl’s passion was really with IT and following a major company restructure in 2013 he asked to move into the IT and Communications team.

As the company has grown and become to rely more heavily on IT systems to operate Carl has also developed his knowledge and become an indispensable member of the team. He has now progressed to IT and Communications Manager (Development and Support) and plays a major role in maintaining and developing the IT systems for the company.

He has been integral in developing and building our bespoke software system that we operate to run the business and is extremely competent in software packages including; Autocad, InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and DocuWare.

He has also created his own group policies and powershell scripts to program various server level items with code.

As the company continues to grow and modern ways of working demand a more robust IT system Carl continues to work alongside Chris Bell to provide the best IT systems and support that are available.

Chris Bell

IT and Communications Manager - Hardware and Projects

Chris joined our company in 2001 as a qualified contract manager working on one of our term maintenance contracts. However, it wasn’t long before we noticed his flair for IT, and although his skills as a contract manager were exemplary, we took note of his seemingly unique ability to solve IT-related issues and steered him in a new direction.

Initially Chris moved into the position of office manager with responsibility for dealing with many different tasks, including day-to-day IT issues, but as our reliance on modern IT and communications grew it became necessary to concentrate Chris’ role solely on this area.

Now with more than 20 years of service, Chris takes care of our IT hardware and special projects to support the company's ever growing need for reliable and efficient IT.

Working together with Carl Mallett, Chris has developed and implemented a robust IT and communications infrastructure for the company that is second to none.

This allows efficient working for all employees with the ability to access our systems from anywhere with an internet connection.

Chris now spends the majority of his time continuously researching, developing and improving our systems to ensure that we are always one step ahead of the game!

Peeby

Company Mascot

Peeby was born in 2015 and got straight on with injecting a little fun into the Princebuild brand

He spends most of his time down at Peterborough United, where he can be seen on match days encouraging the team and entertaining the crowd alongside his good friend Peterburrow

He also takes his turn in goal for the half time challenge where contestants try to score a penalty past him and win club shop vouchers.

His work doesn't end at the football ground though, he can regularly be seen at other local events such as the Christmas lights switch on which is one of his favourite nights as so many people want a photo with him! As well as public events he does of course support many Princebuild events and can always be relied upon to get people smiling.